Life at university has enough challenges. Getting around from class to class shouldn't be one of them.

A McMaster University student who has developed a mapping system to chart the accessibility of the campus says he now hopes to export the system to other Canadian universities.

Nick Schoenhoff, who uses a wheelchair, said early days on campus can be a challenge for any student.

"You show up for orientation and they hand you a map," he said. "That's hard enough, but imagine if you're in a wheelchair."

Schoenhoff's system — called Campus Accessibility Mapping Project — uses three colours familiar to drivers from traffic stoplights. Green means full-speed ahead, yellow means there may be some accessibility problems and red means don't even try.

Schoenhoff's mapping system was awarded the second runner-up prize at the third annual Innovative Designs for Accessibility (IDeA) student competition in Toronto last week. Ontario's university undergraduate students were challenged to identify an accessibility-related issue and develop a plan to address it.

Schoenhoff received a $500 prize, which he says will be a "little reward" for the hours he spent developing the project.

Schoenhoff, who is graduating with a degree in life science, said for now he wants to throw himself full-time into the project. He's looking for funding and hopes to soon have a real-time app available.

"We're in the process of developing something more advanced," he said. "We'd like to create an app with real-time uses, like when it snows."

The 22-year-old Oakville resident, who was injured in a snowboarding accident when he was 13, said he found the McMaster campus "pretty good" for accessibility. He said he's also seen improvement in his five years on the campus.

"When I first got there, the main pub, the Phoenix, was not accessible at all," he said. The pub is now fully accessible after a move to a new building.

But he realizes that getting change in large institutions such as universities can take some time.

"It's an awareness and effort thing. Sometimes it can fall through the cracks," he said. "I just have to be persistent."